Apparatus for splicing strip material



March 31, I936. G fw 2,035,682

APPARATUS FOR SPLICING STRIP MATERIAL Filed Aug. 31, 1953 s Sheets-Sheet1.

"$37. Z. INVENTOR. 650K151. f: W/JZ Air NEYS.

March 31, 1936. G, F KLE 2,035,682

APPARATUS FOR SPLICING STRIP MATERIAL Filed Aug. 51, 1933 3 Sheets-Sheet2 Y n 9, a2. a4

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ATTO NEYS.

March 31, 1936.

G. F. Wl KLE APPARATUS FOR SPLICING STRIP MATERIAL Fild Aug. 51, 1935 sSheets-Sheet s INVENTOR. ffl/ff lW/flf BY 2:

A ORNEYS.

Patented Mar. 31, 1936 STAS APPARATUS FOR, SPLICING STRIP MATERIALGeorge F. V Vikle, Detroit, Mich, assignor, by mesne assignments, toUnited States Rubber Company, New York, N. Y., a corporation of NewJersey Application August 31, 1933, Serial No. 687,634

12 Claims.

' where it is separated by interposed liner fabric and then spliced soas to form a continuous length of stock, without any interruption in themovement of the stock to an associated machine and without the use ofany festoon or other takeup mechanism. The apparatus may be utilized incombination with and/or driven from other tire building machines towhich a continuous flow of stock is desired.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent in the followingdetailed description, when considered in connection with theaccompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the complete apparatus;

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view thereof;

Fig. 3 is an elevational view, in section, taken along lines III-III ofFig. 1;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged detailed View of the stitching and shearingmechanism;

Fig. 5 is a cross sectional view thereof, taken along lines V-V of Fig.4;

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a portion of a knife blade unit forshearing gum stocks; and

Figs. '7, 8 and 9 are diagrammatic views illustrating the positions ofthe stocks during the splicing and shearing operations.

Referring to the drawings, and in particular to Fig. l, the frame of thedevice herein described comprises panels I and 2 supported by structurallegs 3. The apparatus is divided principally into a stock supplyingmeans and a stock stitching and shearing means. The supplying mechanism,as shown in Fig. 2, consists principally of a stock roll 4, driving roll5, and liner wind-up roll 6. The mechanism also contains a secondsimilar stock supplying means consisting of a stock roll I, driving roll8, and liner wind-up roll 9. The object of this double set of rolls isto enable an operator to replenish the stock on one set of rolls, and torethread same in operable position while the other set of rolls is inprocess of operation. For purposes of convenience, I will hereinafterrefer to the different sets of rolls as right and left hand stocksupplying means.

On the left hand unit, as shown in Fig. 2, a 5

roll of stock If] is placed on the stock roll 4. The roll of stock Illconsists of a strip of gum stock II interwound between convolutions of aliner I2. Stock roll It is driven by the drive roll 5, causing the gumstock II to be unwound and sep- 10 arated from the liner I2. The gumstock II passes around an idler roll 13, after which it is positionedfor the splicing operations; or, if the left hand unit is in process ofactuation, the

stock I i may pass upward and around idler roll I4 5 supported from theframe panel 2 by a bracket I5.

After the gum stock leaves the roller I4 it passes to any conventionaltype of machine which may utilize gum stock in a continuous feedingoperation, as in the manufacture of tire com ponents. The liner I2 beingseparated from the gum stock II passes around the drive roll 5, and iswound up onto the liner roll 6.

The mechanism for driving the rolls as above referred to is particularlyshown in Fig. 3. The

drive shaft I6 rotates continuously during the operation of theapparatus, and preferably receives its power from such further machineas utilizes the gum stock in continuous, unbroken lengths. A sprocketI1, attached to the drive shaft I6, and a chain I8 associated therewithforms means through which power is supplied to the drive shaft I6. Agear I9 keyed to the shaft I5 meshes with gear 2B on operating shaft 2|.

A link 22 keyed to the shaft 2I operates to retain an idle gear 23 incontinual meshing engagement with the gear 20. The shaft 2| extendsoutwardly from the frame panel 2 and joins with a hand lever 24 so that,upon actuation thereof, the gear 23 is operable in an arcuate movementfor engagement or disengagement Withgears 25 or 26. This combinationoperates in effect as a clutch to cause actuation of the right or lefthand stock supplying rolls. Fig. 3 shows gear 23 in meshing engagementwith gear 26,

thus operating the right hand set of feed rolls.

When the left hand set of feed rolls is set into operation, the gear 23engages with gear 25 on shaft 21. This gear 25 also meshes with a secondgear 28 on shaft 29, which in turn contains a 5 roll 5 also operates apair of stripping rolls 35 and 5 shaft 37 on which is carried a sprocket38 for intermeshing with the chain 3i. The shaft 31 further carries agear 39 which intermeshes with a gear 49 for driving the upper strippingroll 35.

The purpose of the stripping rolls 35 and 36 is to assist the gum stockin its removal from the liner. The reason for this is that the gumstock, having adhesive qualities, will frequently adhere to the linerand sometimes will tend to follow it, unless independent means areutilized to assist the removal of the gum stock from its adhesion withthe liner.

A stock roll 4 (Fig. 2) carrying the roll of stock I0 is supported froman arm 4| pivotally attached to the-frame panel 2 at 42. The arm M ispositioned so that the roll of stock M will by its own Weight bearagainst the drive roll 5. The liner roll 6 positioned on shaft 43 isdriven from the shaft 2? by means of a sprocket 44 attached to shaft 27,sprocket 45 attached to shaft 43, and a. chain 46.

Because of the uniform movement of the stock I l and the differentialspeed required of the roller 6 due to the increased building up of thesize of the liner roll, together with the desirability of winding theliner in such manner as to wind the stock in compact convolutions, Iprovide a clutch arrangement which permits slippage, thereby overcomingthe differential movement between lineal speeds and revolutions. This Ishow in Fig. 1, wherein the sprocket 45 is permitted to rotate looselyupon the shaft 43. Transmission of the movement is carried from thesprocket 45 to the shaft 43 by means of a clutch flange 41 keyed to theshaft 43 and associating with the side of the sprocket 45 through aclutch facing 48. A spring 49 circumscribing the shaft 43 exerts theproper pressure between the clutch 47 and the sprocket 45 for supplyingthe correct driving force between the sprocket 45 and the shaft 43. Acollar 59 keyed to the shaft 43 retains the sprocket 45 in correctrelative position.

The supply rolls of the right hand unit are driven in a somewhat similarmanner. Gear 23 (Fig. 3) engageable with gear 26 drives a shaft 5| whichcarries a sprocket 52 and is associated with a chain 53. Chain 53 inturn rotates drive roll 8 through a sprocket 54 and shaft 55, and alsorotates stripping rolls 56 and 5'! by engagement with a sprocket 58attached to shaft 59 which carries a gear 69 meshing with gear 6|. Theright hand liner wind-up roll 9 is driven from the sprocket 26 throughthe gear 62, shaft 63, and chain 64. As explained in connection with theclutch arrangement on the left hand unit, a similar mechanism utilizingsprocket 65, clutch 66 (Fig. 1) and shaft 6? is used on the right handmechanism.

The liner roll 1 (Fig. 2) containing a supply of stock 68 is supportedby an arm 69 pivoted to the frame panel 2 at 19.

It should be understood that, of the right hand and left hand supplyunits, only one unit operates at a time to supply the rubber stripmaterial for the purpose desired.

In Fig. 2, the strip material is shown being unreeled from the righthand unit, passing around a roller ll and up over the roller M. Thisbrings the stock between a shearing and splicing mechanism. During suchtime as the stock in the right handunit is being unreeled, a. full rollof stock is placed on the left hand unit, threaded around the roller 13,extends upward, and is draped around knife blades 72. Rollers l3 and Hare supported from brackets 13 attached to the frame panel 2.

36 (Fig. 2). Stripping roll 36 is positioned on a The knife blades 12are supported from arms 14 pivoted at 15. An extension member 16 forms acontinuation of the arms 14 beyond the pivot 15. Springs 11 connect theextension member 16 with the frame panel 2 so as to retain the knifeblade arms normally in a vertical position.

The knife blades 72, carried by the arms 74, are operable by meanshereinafter described, for cooperative engagement with a shearing blade18 and stitching blocks I9 shown in particular in Figs. 4 and 5.

The stitching blocks 19 are slidably supported in a guide bar 89attached to a structural bracket 8| extending from and fastened to theframe panels I and 2. A cover plate 82 encloses the stitching blocks l9within the guide bar 80. A plurality of these stitching blocks 19 extendtransversely of the path of travel of the rubber stock, each beingnormally retained in an outward position relative to the guide bar 89 bymeans of a spring 83. The spring 83 is retained in position relative tothe structural bracket 8| by means of a pin 84 attached to thestructural bracket 8|. A counterbore 85 in each stitching block 19 formsan enclosure for the greater part of the spring 83 and permits a longerspring to be used, so that each stitching block is easily slidablewithin the guide bar 89. A lug 85 extending downwardly from eachstitching block 19 on the inner side of the guide bar 80 limits theoutward movement of these blocks 19.

The purpose of the plurality of stitching blocks is to enable each blockto operate independently so as to apply a uniform and equalized pressureover the width of the rubber stock during the time of the splicingoperation.

It sometimes occurs that the stock to be spliced is not suficientlyadhesive to unite by the mere application of a flat pressure. In orderto insure the proper splice, regardless of the condition of the stock, Iprovide. additional means by way of localized joints in the nature of aseries of perforations. This is accomplished by a series of apertures 81(Figs. 4 and 5) in the stock contacting portion 98 of the stitchingblock 19. These apertures 87 cooperate with pins 89 projecting from theguide bar 89 in such manner so that, when the stitching blocks 19 aredepressed during the. stitching operation, the pins 89 will enter theapertures 81, pass therethrough and extend outwardly from the stitchingblocks 19. The side surface of the knife blade 12 which cooperates withthe stitching blocks 19 for exerting pressure on the stock to be splicedalso has apertures 90 which, when in operative position, are incomplementary alignment with the pins 89.

When the mechanism is in splicing position, the pins 89 pass through theapertures 8'! of the stitching blocks 19 and into the apertures 96 (Fig.6) of the knife blades 12. The result is that the pins 89 pierce therubber stock at a plurality of points along its width. This piercingoperation causes interior tacky portions of the stock to come togetherat localized points, thus insuring a proper adhesion between the stocksto be'spliced.

After the stock is properly stitched, the stitching device cooperateswith a shearing device to cut away the excess stock adjacent to thesplice. The shearing device consists of the knife blade 12 positioned incomplementary relation with the shear blade 18 (Figs. 5 and 6). Theshear blade 18 is attached to an adjustable support 92 connected to thestructural bracket 9| through an adjustable hinge block 93. This block93 is vertically adjustable by means of adjusting screws 94 and 95, sothat the shear blade I8 will properly cooperate with the knife blade I2.

Opposite the hinge end of the support 92 (Fig. 4), the support rides ona stud 96 attached to the structural bracket 8 I. A spring 91,circumscribing the stud 06 and held by retaining nuts 98, normally holdsthe support 02 in an upward position against an adjustable stop 00. Theblade I8 thus adjustably pivoted and under spring tension provides ameans of cooperation with the knife blade I2 for dependably shearing offthe surplus of the rubber stock after it is properly spliced.

It is to be understood that there is a right hand and left hand unit asthus described, and that the knife arms I4 support knife blades I2 forcooperation with either the right or left hand shearing and splicingunits.

When it is desired to splice and shearthe stocks, an operator merelymoves the hand lever 24 from the position as shown in Fig. 2 to theposition indicated by the dotted lines. It is preferable that themovement of this hand lever be made quickly, for the travel of the stockas Withdrawn from the apparatus herein is not stopped during thesplicing and shearing operation.

Although the stock will be held momentarily during the stitchingoperation, this interval is so short that the continuous feeding ofstock from the machine herein described is not caused to stop, for thereason that the slight time in which the stock is held by the stitchingdevice is taken up by an inappreciable amount of stretch in the stockitself. If desirable, a small capacity conventional take-up device (notshown) may be used in connection with the present machine so as toobviate entirely any stretching of the stock.

The hand lever 24- connects to the shaft 2I and carries an arm IOIhaving projections I02 and I03. An extension I04 of the arm IOI operatesto contact with adjustable stops I05 and I00 and also to engage with afoot operated latch I0! for retaining the shaft 2| in locked positionduring operation of the device. The latch IIlI is attached to an arm I08pivoted to brackets I09 extending from the frame panel 2. Associatingwith the arm I08 is a foot pedal I I0 for manually releasing the latchI0I from engagement with the extension I04. A spring II2 (Fig. 3)normally retains the latch I0I in engaging position with the extensionI04.

A cam trip pin II I is positioned on the arm IOI between theprojections, I02 and I03, and has for its purpose to engage with theextension I0 of the knife blade arm I4.

When it is desired to produce a splicing operation, the operatordepresses a foot pedal IIO, thereby releasing the latch I01, and movesthe hand lever 24 from the position as shown in Fig. 2 to the positionindicated by the dotted lines. This movement causes the cam trip pin toengage with the extension I6, thus pressing the knife blades I2 againstthe stitching blocks I9 and shearing blade IS. The moment that thestitching and shearing operation is complete, the cam trip pin IIIpasses under the extension I6, thus leaving the knife blade arm I4 freeto seek its normal vertical position by reason of the springs 11. Inorder that the knife blade arm I4, after it is released from the camtrip pin III, will not reciprocally swing on its pivot I5, I provide theprojections I02 and I03 which operate to stop any momentum of the knifearm I4 after the stitching and shearing operation is complete.

' In addition to the stitching and shearing operation, the hand lever24, through movement of the shaft 2|, also operates to move the gear 23(Fig. 3) back or forth into meshing engagement with either the gear 25or the gear 26. thus operating as a. clutch to start or stop the rightor left hand mechanism for unreeling the stock strip material.

With reference to Figs. 7, 8 and 9, I show diagrammatic viewsillustrating positions of the stock during various stages of thesplicing and shearing operation. In Fig. 7, I show the stock I I fromthe lefthand supply unit passing around the roller I3 and over rollerI4. This brings the stock between the arm I4, carrying the knife bladesI2 and the left hand stitching blocks I0, and shearing blade I8. In thisView, I also show stock I00 of like material as stock II passing aroundthe roller II and draped around the knife blades I2.

When the stock II is about to become exhausted from its source in theleft hand supply unit, the operator causes the foot pedal IIO. to beoperated, and the hand lever 24 actuated. This operation, as shown inFig. 8, moves the knife arm I4 in the direction of the left hand unit sothat the blade I2 pinches the two stocks II and I00 together against thestitching blocks I0. Further, this movement causes the stitching blocksI0 to slide in their mountings and to cause the pins 80 (Fig. 5) toperform their punch-like stitching operation, while at the same time theknife blade 12 engages with the shear blade I8, thus severing ortrimming the short lengths of stock adjacent to the splice. Immediatelythe knife blade arm I4 assumes its vertical position and, as shown inFig. 9, the stock II is spliced with the stock I00, carrying sameforward in an unbroken continuity.

While the stock I00 is being unreeled from the right hand unit, a fullsupply of stock is placed in the left hand unit, and its end is drapedaround the knife blades. This is shown in Fig. 9 by the dotted linesrepresenting the stock II. In the next operation the operator causes theknife blade arm I4 to be actuated toward the right hand stitching blockI0 and shear blade IS in a similar cycle of operation, thereby joiningthe stock I00 with the stock II so that stock II is pulled alongaccording to movement of the stock I00.

Thus I have provided means for supplying strip material in anuninterrupted flow and in a continuous length, by joining successiverelatively shorter strips of material from a source constituting a.plurality of stock rolls, in the manner as hereinbefore described.

It is to be understood that the invention may be otherwise embodiedwithin the spirit thereof and the scope of the following claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to protectby Letters Patent is:

1. In a splicing machine, a pair of relatively movable pressure membersfor joining stripsof tacky material, and a cutter normally shielded byone of the members and against which the joined strips are pressed fortrimming them upon joint movement of said members.

2. In a splicing machine, a pair of relatively movable pressure membersfor joining strips of tacky material, a resilient mounting for one ofsaid members, and a cutter against which the joined strips are pressedfor trimming them during yielding movement of said resilient mounting.

3. In a splicing machine, a yieldable pressure member, a movablepressure member, a cutter on said movable member, and a cutter disposedadjacent to said yieldable pressure member and in cooperative relationto the first named cutter whereby strips of material clamped betweensaid pressure members are severed during retreating movement of saidyieldable pressure member.

4. A splicing machine comprising a plurality of spaced relatively fixedpressure members, a movable pressure member for cooperating with saidspaced pressure members for joining strips of stock, a yieldablemounting for at least one of each pair of cooperating pressure membersduring engagement, and a cutter for trimming the joined stock broughtinto operation by the yielding of said mounting.

5. A splicing machine comprising a plurality of spaced relatively fixedpressure members, an oscillating pressure member for cooperating withsaid spaced pressure members for joining strips of stock, a yieldablemounting for at least one of each pair of cooperating pressure membersduring engagement, and a cutter for trimming the joined stock broughtinto operation by the yielding of said mounting.

6. A splicing machine comprising a. plurality of sources of stock, meansfor delivering a continuous strip of stock, and means for selectivelysplicing stock ends from said sources to the strip, said meanscomprising a pressure member associated with each stock source and acommon relatively movable pressure member selectively bearing againstsaid first named pressure members.

7. A splicing machine comprising a plurality of sources of stock, meansfor delivering a continuous strip of stock, and means for selectivelysplicing stock ends from said sources to the strip, said meanscomprising a pressure and cutter member associated with each stocksource and a relatively movable pressure member,

8. A splicing machine comprising a plurality of sources of stock, meansfor delivering a continuous strip of stock, and means for selectivelysplicing stock ends from said sources to the strip, said meanscomprising a resilient pressure mem ber associated with each stocksource and a relatively movable pressure member.

9. A splicing machine comprising a plurality of sources of stock, meansfor delivering a continuous strip of stock, means for selectivelysplicing stock ends from said sources to the strip, said meanscomprising a pressure member associated with each stock source and arelatively movable pressure member, and means for actuating at least oneof the pressure members to clamp stock between it and another pressuremember.

10. A splicing machine comprising a plurality of sources of stock, meansfor delivering a continuous strip of stock, means for selectivelysplicing stock ends from said sources to the strip, said meanscomprising a resilient pressure member associated with each stock sourceand a relatively movable pressure member, and cutting means madeoperative by the retreat of said resilient pressure member.

11. A splicing machine comprising a plurality of sources of stock, meansfor delivering a continuous strip of stock, means for selectivelysplicing stock ends from said sources to the strip, said meanscomprising a pressure member associated with each stock source and arelatively movable pressure member, and locking means for saidrelatively movable pressure member.

12, A pressing and splicing device comprising a perforated pressermember, a resilient mounting for said member, stationary pins alignedwith said perforations for extending therethrough upon yielding of saidmember, and a cutting blade disposed in cooperative relation to saidpins and brought into operation during the yielding movement of saidmember.

' GEORGE F. WIKLEL

